


Not That Romantic

by RavensDagger



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Ruby Rose is Clueless, Sisterly Competition, Useless Lesbian Weiss Schnee, Weiss Schnee Needs a Hug, Wholesome, aggressive hand holding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22389736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavensDagger/pseuds/RavensDagger
Summary: Weiss Schnee has a type.So does her sister.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Winter Schnee
Comments: 42
Kudos: 398





	1. Chapter 1

Weiss Schnee had a type. 

It wasn’t something she would ever admit to anyone, not with the amount of embarrassment it would bring to the Schnee name and corporation. If people found out that their precious heir was particularly fond of a certain kind of person above all others it would unleash a wave of gossip that would be impossible to stifle. 

It would certainly help to explain why she had turned down so many suitors over the years. And why she had left the cold of Atlas behind for the greener pastures of Beacon. 

Truly she wasn’t looking for romance or love or anything of the sort. Hoping, yes, but looking: definitely not. She wanted to be a self-made woman, and something as trivial as love did not factor into that.

Then, on the day she arrived at Beacon Academy, she ran into one Ruby Rose.

Weiss Schnee had a type, and if someone were to list out all the traits of that type, they would be hard pressed to find someone that ticked them off as well as her bumbling new team leader.

“Dammit Ruby,” Weiss swore under her breath as she took in the mess left on their desk. Homework was strewn about without a care or a passing thought about keeping it organized and, from what she could tell at a glance, only half the work that was there was actually done. The other half was made up entirely of scribbles and notes about ‘awesome cool’ weapons and tiny figures of team RWBY murdering what might have been Grimm or particularly rorschach-y ink blotches. 

She let her fingers linger over two stick figures holding hands, each holding a surprisingly detailed rendition of Crescent Rose and Myrtenaster. “Oh, Ruby,” she sighed.

There was a snort from behind her and Weiss spun around with all the speed afforded to her by years of Hunter training.

Blake was lounging on her bed, body splayed out like a cat in a sunbeam while a book rested by her head. “So are you just going to sigh all the time or are you going to do something about it?” she asked before flipping a page.

“When did you get there?” Weiss asked.

“I live here too, you know,” Blake said. “And it’s not my fault you were too busy daydreaming to notice me walk in. I wonder who will notice first, Ruby or Yang.” 

“There’s nothing to notice,” Weiss said with a stomp. She turned back around and started gathering the homework up again. It was Saturday morning, which gave Ruby plenty of time to finish it up and rewrite what she had on non-scribbled paper later.

“Uh-huh, sure,” Blake said. “You keep on telling yourself that.”

Weiss was about to tear into the cat faunus when she felt a buzz by her hip. Reaching into the pleats of her uniform, she found her scroll. Winter Schnee’s name was emblazoned above a call accept button.

Her heart soared and she could barely act with proper decorum as she pressed a thumb to the button and brought the device to her ear. “Weiss Schnee speaking.”

“Weiss,” her sister’s voice came over the line. “It’s Winter.”

“Hello Winter,” she said. “It’s good to hear from you.” 

“Likewise. It has been far too long, little sister. But that will change very soon. I’m in Vale right now and I happen to have some hours to spare. How would you like to meet up for a bite to eat? Perhaps we can catch up over coffee?”

Weiss grinned from ear to ear and had to school herself so that her glee wouldn’t be heard in her voice. “That would be wonderful. Did you want to meet right away?”

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt any important training,” Winter began.

“Nonsense, I was merely... helping my team leader reorganize some important paperwork. Nothing that can’t be set aside for you. How about you text me a location and hour and I’ll travel over to Vale right away.” 

“That sounds wonderful,” Winter said. “I’ll send the information over as soon as I’ve secured a reservation. I look forward to seeing you Weiss.”

“And I you, Winter.”

She hung up, then did a little dance on the spot to bleed off some of the joy bubbling in her chest.

“Wow.” Blake’s voice was flat and utterly unimpressed. “I don’t know what’s worse, that conversation or that little dance.”

“I am merely excited to go see my sister. It’s perfectly natural to feel this way,” Weiss shot back.

Blake rolled her eyes, but she just refocused on her book and shifted onto her back. “Well, have fun.”

“I will!” she declared before stomping out of the room. She had things to do before Winter sent her the address, like getting out of her school uniform and into something more appropriate for the occasion. Her battle dress would probably do well enough. It was not too formal and gave her an air of maturity that she thought Winter would appreciate.

It was as she made her way to the lockers where her equipment was stored that she ran into Ruby.

Ruby was flouncing along, not a single care in the world as she cradled the folded form of Crescent Rose to her chest and hummed a low tune in the back of her throat.

Weiss took a moment to compose herself and wipe the ear-to-ear smile from her face at seeing Ruby. “What are you doing?” she asked.

The shorter girl jumped, wide eyes looking first at Weiss, then around to see if she was in any sort of trouble. “Nothing!” she said too quickly. “Crescent Rose and I were just spending some family bonding time together. She had a teensy little squeak when the scythe deployed and I had to get rid of that before it turned into an actual problem.”

Weiss rolled her eyes. If Ruby spent as much time caring for important things as for her weapon, then the team would be far better off. For example, she could spend more time bonding with her partner instead of a gun. “Very well. I can’t blame you for doing proper maintenance.”

“Thank you, Weiss!” Ruby cheered.

She had no business cheering Weiss for allowing her to do something she had every right to do already, but Weiss wasn’t going to be the one to burst Ruby’s bubble. 

“Are you going somewhere?” Ruby asked.

“Ah, yes, in fact I am,” Weiss said. “My sister called me. She’s in Vale for some reason or other and wanted to see me. I’m heading over there now to meet her.”

Between one blink and the next, Ruby was planted inches away from Weiss. “Your sister? That’s Winter, right? Can I meet her too?”

“It’s more of a fam--” Weiss’ words were lost as she looked down and into Ruby’s huge silver eyes. They shined up at her, filled with water-y tears. Ruby’s lower lip wobbled. “I mean, I’m sure Winter would love meeting you.”

Ruby’s face changed from a saddened pout to a dangerously joyful grin between one heartbeat and the next. Weiss found herself wrapped in a pair of thin yet firm arms that squeezed her nice and hard. “Oh, thank you! It’s going to be super fun, I’m sure! Your sister is totally going to love me!”

Weiss’ mind was in tatters as she tried to remind herself that a proper young lady such as herself wouldn’t sink into another young woman’s embrace, no matter how warm and snug.

“Are we going now?” Ruby asked. 

“N-no, not yet. I need to get changed, make myself presentable.” 

Ruby looked her up and down and Weiss had to remind herself that Ruby wouldn’t be checking her out because Ruby was too Ruby to know that that was a thing that could be done to non-weapons. “You look pretty enough,” she said.

Weiss turned her head away. “I can hardly show up in my school uniform,” she snapped. “I’m getting changed.”

“Okay,” Ruby said.

It took half a dozen steps for Weiss to notice that Ruby was right next to her. “Why are you following me?” 

“To go see your sister?” Ruby tried.

“I’m getting changed first,” Weiss explained the obvious.

Ruby blinked at her. “Yeah, I know. I can wait in the girl’s locker room. I’m a girl.”

The Atlesians were known across Remnant for their ability to keep cool in the face of adversity. That was what Weiss focused on as she walked over to the locker rooms and pretended that Ruby wasn’t right next to her the entire time.

Getting changed and ready was a quick affair, especially with Ruby sitting on one of the benches and fiddling with her scroll while Weiss worked to ignore her. “We’ll have to take a bullhead to Vale,” Weiss said as she pulled on her combat boots. “Do you mind reserving one for us?”

“Sure thing!” Ruby agreed before she flipped her scroll’s interface over to the Beacon pages. By the time Weiss was ready to go, Ruby had a flight locked for their use. 

“I... wanted to thank you for coming along,” she said as they left the locker rooms and moved towards the far end of the school. “It might help reassure my sister to see that my team leader is such a competent young woman.”

“Aww, stop,” Ruby said. “You’ll make me blush. And anyway,” she paused to bump shoulders with Weiss. “I wouldn’t be half the leader I am if it wasn’t for you helping me. Even if you’re a pain in the butt.”

Weiss looked away with a huff. The last thing she wanted was for Ruby to see her blushing. “I’m no such thing. I just want you to be the best you can be.” 

Ruby’s giggled lasted until they reached the bullhead landing pads. One of them was already fired up, a couple of students waiting within. “That’s ours!” Ruby said as she ran up to the craft. Weiss rolled her eyes and followed after her.

The bullhead rumbled along, Ruby practically sitting on Weiss’ lap the entire time. She could hardly be blamed for not noticing the passage of time or paying any attention to what Ruby was saying until they landed in Vale.

It was a red-faced Weiss that stepped out of the Bullhead. “Are you okay?” Ruby asked. “You’re not going to pull a Jaune, right?” 

“Nonsense. I just... shouldn’t fly on an empty stomach.” She coughed into a closed fist and began marching out of the landing area while pulling out her scroll. A few texts from his sister were already waiting for her, the address of a nearby cafe and restaurant as well as a time that was only a few minutes away. Knowing Winter as well as she did, it was almost certain that her sister was waiting for her there already. “Follow me!” 

“Okay!” Ruby said before she slipped her next to Weiss and grabbed her hand.

Weiss jumped back as if she’d been bitten. “W-what are you doing?” she hissed.

Ruby blinked up at her. “I don’t want to get lost.”

“Th-that may be, but there’s no need to be so forward! You need only follow me, none of this... contact stuff.”

Ruby shrugged. “Okay. Sheesh. Yang and I hold hands when we’re walking together because she says it keeps that weirdos away.”

“Yes, well,” Weiss began. She wasn’t sure where she was going with that, but it had to be said, a protest had to be lodged.

“Weiss!” The call snapped her out of her reverie and had her looking up in time to see Winter, arms crossed and back set in a perfect Atlesian military posture. 

“Sister, it’s good to see you again.” Then her eyes shifted over to Ruby and... something flashed across them, something that had a pit opening in Weiss stomach.

***

Winter Schnee had a type. 

Oh, she would never admit it, but if one looked at the string of women she had courted over the years and those she had grown close to, there was definitely a pattern that a discernible person might pick up. 

In fact, she had something of a checklist of the kind of girl she liked, she even kept an eye out for any... prospects. 

The last thing she was expecting was to meet someone that ticked off the first few boxes not moments after meeting her dearest sister. 

“Hi! I’m Ruby Rose. And I’m Weiss’ team leader! It’s totally awesome that we get to meet!” The girl was in her face right away, big silver eyes looking up at her filled barely contained glee. 

She was loud, yes, and excited, and absolutely brimming with happiness as if she had found the source of all joy and instead of waiting patiently for her tiny portion had skipped ahead and taken as much as she could.

Check, check, check.

“Why hello there, miss Rose,” Winter said, her voice dropped an octave and grew smooth without her even realizing it. “I would ask that you call me Miss Schnee, but with my sister as your friend that would hardly do. Please, you can call me Winter.”

The girl vibrated on the spot, hands clasped together over her chest for just a few seconds before they exploded out and hugged her around the waist. 

She was shorter than Winter, just coming up to her chin, with lithe features and, judging by the wiry strength in her arms, a build meant for agility and flexibility in combat. 

Check, check.

“My, you’re forward, aren’t you?” Winter asked, taken slightly aback by the young woman’s gesture, but not disliking it in the least. It was an exceptionally rare trait in Atlas where rigid formality was the norm. 

“Ah, well,” Ruby said before backing up, her tiny button nose (check) scrunching up and a scarlet blush racing across her cheeks. “I thought, if Weiss has a sister, then maybe she’s like Yang, and Yang, that’s my sister, she loves hugs, so maybe you’d like hugs too since you’re a big sister!” 

Winter blinked slowly while her mind did the equivalent of checking off boxes without even bothering to read them. “It’s all well and good. I must say I am overjoyed that Weiss brought you with her. I never expected she would have such an attractive teammate with her.”

“Ah,” Ruby said before her faint blush went thermonuclear and she began to fidget on the spot. 

Winter had to hold herself back from pinching those very red cheeks. “But there will be plenty of time for us to get to know each other, I’m sure. Come, I’ve reserved a section of the cafe for our personal use. Weiss, would you be so kind as to sit across from me? I would like to see my sister in the eyes while talking to her.”

“Of-of course,” Weiss said. She was eyeing Winter’s arm, Winter’s arm that gently wrapped itself around Ruby Rose’s shoulder in a clear sign of possession. There was a twitch in her eyes.

Winter merely smile as they moved to a private corner of the cafe and found the seats reserved for them. There were a few free booths and tables surrounded by chairs, but Winter guided Ruby to a table with only two fixed seats. “Oh my, it seems there’s not enough space for all of us,” Winter said.

“That’s okay,” Ruby chirped. “We can sit somewhere else!”

Oh, she was precious. Winter shook her head. “Nonsense. This place was reserved just for us. You can sit on my lap.”

Ruby shrugged. “Like when I sit on Yang’s lap.”

Winter’s laughter rang across the cafe. “I see. Yes, just like that. In fact, you can consider me a big sister if you want. Or someone even closer.”

“Really?” Ruby’s sparkling eyes looked up to her and Winter had a hard time not looking away. Eyes that innocent should have been illegal.

“Oh yes,” she breathed. “I look forward to meeting your sister. And the rest of your family, of course.” Winter looked to the side when she heard a choking noise. Weiss’ face was an intense shade of red and her whole body looked as if it was wracked with pain. Her poor little sister, so much left to learn. Winter sat down and pulled the surprisingly soft Ruby onto her lap with a contented little purr at the back of her throat. “My, you’re more muscular than you look, aren’t you?” she murmured into Ruby’s ear.

“I drink my milk,” Ruby confirmed.

“Nope!” Weiss said as she broke out of her near-trance with a violent twitch. She stomped over, grabbed Ruby by the forearm and pulled her off Winter’s lap. “Come on Ruby, w-we have places to be. Like our rooms.”

“My, my, little sister, aren’t you forward,” Winter said as she took Ruby’s other hand in hers and brought it up to her chest while locking the smaller girl in place. 

“Um,” Ruby said as she found herself stuck between the two siblings. “What’s going on?”

“It seems that something has come up for my dearest sister,” Winter said before she planted a warm kiss on the back of Ruby’s hand. The girl’s face exploded into the prettiest shade of red Winter had ever seen.

“You can’t just... take her hand like that!” Weiss squeaked. Then she huffed and with a glare grabbed Ruby by the other hand before snapping her head around as if she didn’t want to see what she was doing.

“Don’t worry, Ruby. I’m certain we’ll find some time for each other.”

Winter let go of the little flower and cocked her hip against the nearest table as she watched Weiss drag her away.

Maybe she could extend her stay in Vale for a few weeks?

***

A one shot someone commissioned!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

“I don’t understand. What’s wrong?” Ruby asked. 

Weiss turned her head away. She knew that the moment her gaze and Ruby’s met it would be over. Ruby’s puppy dog eyes were an irresistible foe and no matter how wilful Weiss Schnee knew she could be, there was no way for her to defeat such an implacable foe. 

Fortunately, Ruby, the innocent cinnamon roll that she was, didn’t seem to be aware that she was deploying such powerful heart-wrenching weaponry most of the time. Otherwise she might start begging Goodwitch to change Combat Class to Cookie Eating Time and Weiss didn’t doubt for a moment that even the stoic Deputy would cave.

No, the best thing for Weiss to do was keep her head on straight and pretend that Ruby wasn’t even there.

“Weiss. Weiss! Weiiiiiss!” Ruby said as she skipped around her. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please? I want to help! I’m your partner, I’m supposed to make you feel good!” 

Ruby was not making it easy to ignore her. “It’s nothing Ruby.”

“But Weiss,” Ruby said as she bumped shoulders with her. They were almost back to their dorm in Beacon, having taken the fastest Bullhead back. “Winter is your sister and she seems really nice. What happened? Can I help? I’m really good at fixing big sister problems.”

“Oh, are you?” 

Weiss and Ruby both paused as an all too familiar voice come up from behind them. Turning, Weiss took Yang Xiao-Long, the taller, fitter girl walking down the corridor with nothing be sweatpants and a tank top on, that and a towel wrapped over her shoulders. 

Judging by her shit eating grin on the woman’s face she knew exactly how she looked and was very much aware of the looks from the young men (and some women) in the corridor.

Yang was not Weiss’ type. She was too muscly, brutish, rude and abrasive for Weiss to truly be attracted to her, but she could admire finely toned abs just as well as the next girl. 

“When you’re done staring,” Yang said as she stretched her shoulders and chest up in a way that made her stomach ropple, would you mind telling me why my sister needs her oh so famous sister fixing skills?”

“I was not staring,” Weiss huffed. “And that’s none of your concern.”

“I met Weiss’ big sister!” Ruby cheered as she zipped past Weiss. “She’s like Weiss, but older and taller and very pretty.”

Weiss’ heart locked up at the last, a reaction that wasn’t helped when Yang noticed.

“Prettier than our Weiss Queen?” Yang asked.

Ruby stared back at Weiss and checked her out. Her silvery eyes roved up and down Weiss’ frame the same way some of the boys looked at her, only instead of instant disgust, Weiss wanted to curl up and hide or at least check her makeup.

“Weiss is pretty too,” Ruby decided. “They’re different kinds of pretty, but they’re both nice looking.”

“Oh-hoh,” Yang said. “Did you hear that, Weiss, Ruby thinks you’re nice looking!” 

That snapped Weiss out of her fugue. She made noises that were distinctly improper then cleared her throat. “It’s perfectly natural for anyone with half a brain to observe someone and determine whether or not they are conventionally attractive. As I believe that both myself and my sister share many traits in common it’s normal that we would both be equally... nice looking.”

Ruby looked at her then slowly tilted her head to the side. “I guess Weiss is a bit prettier than her sister.” She turned away and started yammering to Yang, but Weiss was too busy trying not to grin to really pay attention.

They made it to their rooms in record time, though it might have been because Weiss was suddenly much lighter. 

“So, Weiss won’t tell me why she and her big sis are mad at each other and because she won’t tell me I can’t help,” Ruby said.

“That’s awful,” Yang said. It was teasing and probably meant to infuriate Weiss, which it didn’t because Weiss had gained an ablative layer of Ruby-given compliments which protected her from annoyances like Yang. “You should take Weiss out and try to get her to confess over dinner.”

Yang’s last shot was armour-piercing. It tore through Weiss’ defences and right into her heart. “What?” she squawked.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Ruby said. “I’ll go get us all some snacks for lunch!” With that being said, the girl zipped down the corridor leaving only a faint trail of rose petals that Goodwitch would complain about until Ruby did that thing where she looked down at her feet and looked sad, and then the Deputy Headmistress would mumble something and leave. It was an oft-repeated event around the team RWBY dorms.

Weiss was pulled into the dorm room by Yang and unceremoniously pushed onto her bed. “Okay, talk, princess,” Yang said as she began searching for clean clothes. 

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Weiss said.

“Was Weiss being particularly useless today?” the bundle of blankets on Blake’s bed said. Blake’s head peeked out from atop it, gave them all an uninterested look, then returned to her smut.

“I am not useless,” Weiss said.

“I meant useless at being a lesbian.”

Weiss worked her jaw but didn’t refute the statement. 

“I don’t think so,” Yang said. “She has sibling problems but won’t tell Ruby about it. She’s about to tell us though.” The blonde pulled out a shirt and slipped it on before buttoning it up. “Right Weiss?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“We could just nag you about it forever. Or get Ruby to nag you about it.” Yang looked up, a dangerous gleam in her eye. “I have pictures of Ruby when she was smaller on my scroll.”

“Why would I care about that?” Weiss huffed.

“And videos of small Ruby practicing with Crescent Rose. There’s one where she falls on her bum after shooting her baby for the first time.” Yang picked up her scroll and dangled it like bait before a fish.

“It’s my sister’s fault,” Weiss said as she crossed her arms and looked away. “She saw Ruby for all of a moment and then started... flirting at her.”

Yang’s teasing stopped faster than Ruby leaving Port’s classroom. “She flirted with Ruby?” she asked. “Like... accidental flirting? Because if she’s your sister then I’m not expecting much social competence here.”

Weiss held back her anger. “She asked Ruby to sit on her lap,” she growled. “And she held Ruby’s hand.”

“Wow,” came an absolutely flat voice from Blake’s bed. “She held her hand. Truly, the world has never known such depravity.” The cat faunus said with dripping sarcasm.

“I know flirting when I see it!” Weiss said.

“You just can’t manage to do it yourself,” Yang said. Weiss flung a pillow at the girl’s face, but she batted it aside. “But really, is your sister a sort of cougar? Because damn.”

“My sister is merely twenty-one. She’s already a well respected member of the Atlas military and an attache of General Ironwood. She is a very driven woman. And... as for her preferences in partners, well, the subject never came up.”

“You never talked with your sister about boys, or girls, or whatever?” Yang asked.

“Of course not!” Weiss snapped. “That would be hugely inappropriate.”

Yang shrugged one shoulder and pulled out a pair of shorts from her dresser. “Ruby and I talk love all the time. She knows my type, I know hers. It’s normal sister stuff.”

Weiss paused. She started tallying up the amount of lien she had available and wondered if it would be enough to buy that particular information from Yang. No, mere lien wouldn’t be enough for such valuable knowledge. She sighed and refocused. “I think that Winter assumes that Ruby is the same age as me. So sixteen at worst, probably seventeen.” 

“That’s... slightly less bad?” Yang said. “Twenty-one, divided by two is... ten-ish. Plus seven. Yeah, okay. But still borderline.”

“Oh, I doubt Winter would push things, she is the patient and cunning sort.” Weiss eyes narrowed. “Which means that she will be the worst sort of competition.”

“Should I be worried that you’re competing to be the first to sleep with my sister? I think I should be worried.”

“You should,” Blake confirmed.

The room descended into an uneasy silence for a while, Weiss drawing her legs up onto the bed to hug her knees close. “S-so you’re saying to don’t approve?” Weiss said.

Yang looked towards Blake who conveniently failed to look away from her smut. Still, the twitch of her ears gave away the game. She was listening too.

Yang sighed and buckled her half-skirt in place. “Weiss, you’re a teammate, a friend, and.. And I think you and Ruby would be really cute together. If Ruby had to be with anyone then I would be happy if it were you.”

Weiss’ heart fluttered. “But?” she asked.

“But, as has been pointed out, you’re useless at the whole romance thing. Like, really, really bad at it. And my dear Ruby is more interested in Myrtenaster than she is your booty, so you either need to change your approach or get used to the idea that you’re going to be pinning after her forever. I love Ruby to bits, but she’s clueless.”

“I’m not clueless!” Ruby declared as she barged into the room, arms full of potato chip bags and other snack food. “What am I not clueless about?” she asked.

“Nothing my cute little sister,” Yang said. “You’re too fast, if you missed the clue you’d catch up to it in no time.”

“Darn right!” Ruby said as she moved over to Weiss bed and dropped a deluge of snack food onto it. “I brought snacks,” she said quite unnecessarily. “Oh, and I found a friend.” Turning, Ruby gestured at the door.

Weiss’ heart dropped like a stone into the pit of her stomach as she took in her sister standing in the doorway.

“Hello everyone,” Winter said as she beamed at them all. 

Blake bounced on the spot, did a flip that Weiss would have called cat-like if it wasn’t so racist, and landed sitting on the edge of her bed, both hands folded on her knees in a prim and proper stance, all in under the time it took to blink twice.

“Impressive,” Winter said.

“I’m certain I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Blake replied evenly as she ran a hand through her hair and resettled it along her shoulders.

“Of course,” Winter said.

“W-what are you doing here, Winter?” Weiss asked. She wanted to see Ruby’s reaction, and Yang’s for that matter, but looking away from Winter was probably a bad idea. She would do something lewd and disgusting while she looked away, something that would corrupt Ruby.

“My, our visit was cut short because you had an obligation, so I thought that, seeing as I have free time, I would come to you instead. Really, I should have done you the courtesy from the start. May I come in?”

“No.”

“Yes!” Ruby chirped right over Weiss’s denial.

Winter stepped into the dormitory and gently closed the door behind her. “So, this is where my little sister has been hiding away?” she asked as she took in the room. Weiss would usually be despairing about the condition of the room, the dirty underthings left on Yang’s bed, the bottles of oil and gun cleaning equipment here and there and the stack of outright porn left next to Blake’s corner, but she had bigger concerns to worry about. “It’s quaint. I can see why she likes it so much.”

It was a lie. Weiss knew it was a lie. Winter was a military woman through and through. This level of disorganization was probably an insult to her very soul. Then she noticed Ruby cheering up and bouncing around. “Yup! It’s the best room ever! The bunk beds were my idea.”

“And a very good idea at that,” Winter replied.

The bitch was buttering Ruby up!

“Why are you here?” she asked while trying to remove any edge in her voice. Not trying very hard, but trying.

Winter grinned at her and Weiss was instantly on alert. She recognized that grin. It was the grin of an older sister about to pull a trap on a younger sibling during a board game or who had managed to convince the nanny that their little sister was at fault for something she had clearly not done. “I wanted to see you, of course. Though I did have one ulterior motive.” She turned to Ruby, took one step closer to the shorter girl and took both hands in hers.

Ruby stopped her incessant fretting for a moment.

“Ruby Rose, I happen to be assigned to Beacon for the next few weeks, which means that I will be on campus for the Vytal festival and of course Beacon’s Winter Ball. I was hoping that you, as my sister’s partner, would do me the honour of accompanying me?”

***


	3. Chapter 3

Weiss knew what she was. She had a type and everything. It wasn’t even that much of a secret, though she did make an effort to hide it from her more... conservative father. Her sister, the devilish swine, certainly knew.

That was all well and good. But it didn’t solve Weiss’ most crucial problem, the largest and most glaring gap in her knowledge. Above all else, that one piece of knowledge was crucial. Her plans, her hopes, her dreams, none of them mattered if she didn’t learn one simple thing:

Was Ruby Rose into girls?

If she wasn’t then... then Weiss would do the responsible thing and would go buy a nice bottle of wine to enjoy in the bathroom alone, just like how her mother taught her to deal with things. At least it would mean that Winter didn’t win in the end. What joy.

But if she was...

“You need to do it, Weiss, you useless idiot. You need to tell her how you feel!”

The door to their shared room opened up and Weiss stood up straighter, her make-up kit closing with a snap as she turned towards the entrance to see a wet-haired Ruby Rose stepping in. “Hey Weiss,” she said. “Were you talking to anyone?”

“Just myself,” Weiss said. “Why are you all wet?”

“Ah, Yang and I were sparring! I broke out a sweat so I took a shower.”

Weiss looked her partner up and down. Mostly because Ruby’s practice outfit was made of cotton and Ruby hadn’t done all that good a job of toweling off. To think she had walked the corridors in such a state. “Ruby, you big idiot. Did you redress in the same clothes after showering?”

“ N-no?” Ruby lied.

Weiss shook her head and pointed to their shared bathroom. “Go clean yourself off properly.”

“Aww, but Weiss, I’ll just get dirty again anyway,” Ruby said.

“I don’t care, go, go,” Weiss repeated.

Ruby pouted, which had Weiss’ heart doing funny things but she grabbed a change of clothes and stomped into the bathroom. “I’m not doing my hair!” she shot back before the door snipped closed.

“Right,” Weiss said. She had won herself some time. Some time to think and fret and... maybe she shouldn’t have forced Ruby away so soon.

She was still worrying over her own indecision when Ruby exited the bathroom accompanied by a wash of steam and dressed in her combat uniform. She flounced over to the nearest bed (which happened to be Weiss’) and flopped down on it back-first. “Oof,” she said. “I feel like today has been really long, and it’s not even noon.” She started kicking her feet around.

“Yes, well... some days are like that,” Weiss said. Wiss screwed up all of her courage, fists tightening by her side. “Ruby, I wanted to know...”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like... to go maintain our weapons together?”

Weiss cursed herself. That wasn’t even proper Grammar!

Ruby kicked the air as she righted herself up to a sitting position. “I’d love to! Crescent Rose needs some love! Ohh, and I can look at Myrtenaster too.”

“I... wouldn’t mind that,” Weiss said. “I trust your expertise with weaponry, at the very least.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ruby asked as she hopped to her feet.

Weiss grinned. “Nothing at all.”

The walk over to first their rocket lockers then the workshops was done with a sea of prattle as Ruby explained everything she wanted to do to her precious rifle. It would have been a nice walk for Weiss if her mind wasn’t plaquing her with a million and one worries.

“S-so, Ruby,” Weiss asked as they marched into the workshop to find it empty save for some tools someone inconsiderate had failed to sort away. “Do you prefer boys or girls? For weapons?”

Weiss decided that she was going to throw herself off the Beacon cliffs, landing strategy be damned.

Ruby tilted her head to one side like a puppy that had been asked if it prefered walkies or food. “Um. It depends on the weapon, I guess. Crescent Rose is a girl, obviously. Buy Myrtenaster is a boy. They’re both as good... nearly as good.” She frowned. “I’m okay either way? If Crescent Rose was a boy variable war scythe slash modular assault sniper rifle I would love her, uh, him, just as much.”

“Right, yes, of course,” Weiss said. She placed her rapier, which was apparently a boy-rapier (according to Ruby, whom she had already decided was the expert on the subject) on one of the free workbenches and just started at it for a moment before years of training kicked in and she started to take the complex weapon appart.

“Why did you ask?”

“Hmm?” Weiss said.

Ruby gestured vaguely in the air with Crescent Rose’s detached blade. How she had managed to take the entire weapon apart in seconds was a mystery, but every nut, bolt, screw, spring, trigger and pivot mechanism was laid out across the table in neat rows. “About weapons and their genders.”

“I was just... curious about your take,” Weiss said. “Since you’re the weapon’s expert.”

“Oh,” Ruby said as she grabbed a bottle of oils from a rack and sniffed it before picking another. She started rubbing some into the joints along Crescent Rose’s mechanisms. “I thought you were trying to find out if I was gay or something.”

Myrtenaster flew across the room and jammed itself into the far wall with a wobble.

Weiss was a woman of decorum, so of course she didn’t squeak when she said “What?”

Ruby hefted up Crescent Rose, the weapon fully assembled in the time it would take most people to blink twice. “Do you need help with that?” Ruby asked as she looked at the rapier still firmly planted into the far wall. “That was a neat trick actually. You could impale a Grimm like that from really far away. Maybe with a time-delayed release on a dust payload it could explode back to your hand?”

“I... yes?” Weiss tried. She wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, a situation that was all too common in her life as of late.

With a wash of rose petals, her rapier was back on the table before her, then it wasn’t as Ruby took it apart with a liberal use of her semblance, just like she had taken Weiss’ mind apart. “Are you okay?” Ruby asked Weiss. “You've been weird lately.”

“I, I’m perfectly fine,” Weiss said. “I’m merely... nervous, what with everything going on. Nothing you need to concern yourself over.”

She watched as Ruby finished taking her sword apart, each piece carefully placed in a spiral around the largest mechanisms. Then Ruby started oiling each piece and wiping off the built up grease.

“Am I a good partner?” Weiss asked. It was low on the list of things that bothered her, but it was still there. Would Ruby agree to anything, regardless of her preferences, with someone who wasn’t a good companion? The answer was too obvious to ask.

“You’re the best!” Ruby said.

“I love you.”

Ruby paused for just a moment between picking one screw and the next. She unfroze and beamed at Weiss. “I love you too! You’re the best partner I could have asked for, and my best friend too.”

“Ah, yes,” Weiss said while in her mind she was screaming rather incoherently. The confession was supposed to come later. Way later. Much, way, super later. “I meant that I love you as a partner. Haha. Yes.”

Ruby was wearing a small smile as she pushed a shiny and practically new Myrtenaster towards Weiss. “He’s all oiled up. I loosened the tigger action a little. And you might need to replace one of the dust launchers, it looks a bit worn.”

“Right, thank you,” Weiss said as she took her rapier and weighed it. It, of course, felt no different.

Myrtenaster clattered to the floor a moment later.

Ruby climbed onto the tips of her toes and planted a small peck of a kiss on Weiss’ cheek.

“Wha?” Weiss said.

“Yang was right,” Ruby said as she fell back onto her heels and rocked back and forth. She grinned and started walking towards the workshop’s exit. “You really are a useless lesbian.”

“Wha?” Weiss said again. She shook herself out of her confused and very, very pleased reverie to stumble after her partner. Then she remembered her sword and ran back to fetch it off the floor. A task made difficult by the hand still pressed to one burning cheek. “Wait!” she called after Ruby.

Ruby paused by the door. “Huh?”

“You, you can’t just do th-that to me and then walk away!” Weiss said. She didn’t give a damn that there were people in the corridor that paused to listen.

“I can’t?” Ruby asked.

Weiss huffed as she approached. “You can’t,” she declared. “I... I didn’t know you were, um.”

“Gay? I’m not,” Ruby said.

Weiss' mind did a bit of mental math and came back with a large error. “What?”

“I’m into people that kill grimm,” Ruby said, one fist clenching before her in a picture of determination. “It doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl, old or young, as long as they kill grimm good.”

“...” Weiss said. “W-well, as l-long as I’m amongst those,” she said.

Ruby patted her arm. “You’re alright. Anyway, I promised Yang that we could go dress shopping together. I’ll see you later, okay?” And with that, Ruby disappeared in a puff of rose petals.

Weiss grasped at the air where she had been. She had a lot to say, though she didn’t know where to start.

***

In her temporary office in one of the nicer hotels in Vale, Winter Schnee looked away from a stack of papers and narrowed her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Winter Schnee had trained and learned from the greatest texts and manuscripts, those penned by generals of incredible talent and cunning. She knew that allowing a foe to entrench themselves was a great fault, that allowing an enemy to know what she planned was tantamount to handing them the victory, and that the greatest victory didn’t come from resounding destruction, but instead from the surrender of a still-powerful foe.

That was why she decided to change tactics for this next part of the war for Ruby Rose’s heart.

Was she wearing a pencil skirt instead of her habitual pants? Yes. She was hardly going to enter combat in Vale, it was perfectly ordinary that she would expose a little bit of leg.

Was her new jacket sleeveless? Why, the weather here was unbearably warm compared to that of Atlas. If it exposed hard-earned muscles that was by no means her own fault.

Did the lacy underthings she wore make her chest more... pronounced? Why, a girl was allowed to wear comfortable clothes at times, was she not? And if her dearest sister couldn’t match them... well, she’d grow up... eventually.

Winter walked down the long corridors of Beacon, her heels clicking with regimental beats on the marbled floor in such a way that they called the attention of the students in the halls. The way the boys--and some girls--eyed her made a smile quirk up the corner of her lips.

Timing in warfare was, more often than not, the deciding factor in a battle being won or lost.

Turning the corner just as team RWBY did the same certainly looked like a coincidence. “Ah,” she said. “Hello team RWBY.” She smiled genially at them, then, because she could, she crossed one arm under her chest and resettled her posture with a... bounce.

Catching the way Ruby’s eyes flickered down already made her day.

“Hey Winter!” Ruby cheered.

“Hello, sister,” Weiss said with far less enthusiasm.

The other two waved their hellos while catching each other's eyes.

“Whatch’a doing here?” Ruby asked. “I didn’t think I’d get to see you until the ball!”

Winter hummed. “I just had a few things to deliver to Deputy Headmistress Goodwitch,” she said. It even had the advantage of being true.

“I bet,” Weiss grumbled.

“Indeed,” Winter said. “I’ll be heading back to Vale in a few moments. I have my own bullhead parked at the docks waiting for me as we speak.”

“Ah, you’re leaving already?” Ruby asked.

The faint note of disappointment was like fine wine. “I’m afraid so, I...” and then, just as planned, it happened.

Winter Schnee’s stomach growled.

She held her breath and allowed a smattering of red to tint her cheeks even as her sister’s expression turned smug. “Forgive me,” Winter said. “The last thing I ate were some poorly made pastries at my hotel. They were... well, I believe I have learned my lesson about Valien pastries.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “You don’t like pastries?” she asked.

“I do,” Winter said. “I love cookies, though don’t go telling that to just anyone.” Oh yes, she’d dip a cookie like Ruby in milk anytime. “I might just have had a stroke of poor luck with local confectionery. And I haven’t found any good bakeries yet.”

Hook, line. Now to see if Miss Rose would bite.

The little red speedster appeared before her, eyes shining with eagerness. “I can show you all the best places,” she said.

“Truly? Why, I would love that.”

Sinker.

***

Weiss Schnee had trained and learned from the greatest texts and manuscripts, those penned by politicians of incredible talent and cunning. She knew that allowing a foe to try and sway opinions first themselves was a terrible mistake, that allowing an adversary to know what she planned was tantamount to handing them the victory, and that the greatest victory didn’t come from resounding destruction, but instead from the abject humiliation of a still-powerful foe.

That was why she decided to change tactics for this next part of the battle for Ruby Rose’s heart.

“May I come?” she asked.

She didn’t merely ask. Oh no, that would have been playing into her treacherous swine of a sister’s plans. No, she asked sweetly. She had a smile that said that merely participating would be a great joy, that all she wanted was to be there.

If Winter was going to spin some bull about needing help, then she’d show the world--but mostly Ruby--just how good of a sister she was. And when Winter reacted to that, why, how difficult would it be to paint her older sister as unsupportive and cruel.

She had blackmail for decades, and the first to sink so low as to use such was also the first to win.

“Of course you can come, dearest sister,” Winter said. “That is...” she moved, hands coming down to her lap as she leaned forward in a way that emphasises... that made her... things jiggled and Weiss contemplated dropping the facade to just claw at Winter’s face. “If Ruby doesn’t mind?”

Ruby blinked at Winter, then smiled bright and cheerful, and Weiss shoved her murderous impulses aside. It wouldn’t do to ruin a smile like that just for a bit of well-deserved familicide. “Of course you can come, Weiss, you’re my partner. Yang and Black can come too? Um, if there's room in your bullhead?”

“For your family and team? Always,” Winter said.

“Oh no, I’m gonna sit this one out,” Yang said. “But don’t worry, I’ll be watching the evening news to see if there’s anything about you guys on there.”

Weiss reminded herself that she was playing a role, that she had to look like the dutiful and loving little sister. “Alright then,” she said before she skipped--yes, skipped--over to Winter’s side and looped her arm with her big sister’s. That her elbow dug into her sister’s disgustingly large and Ruby’s-attention-grabbing-breasts was just a coincidence, surely.

“My, aren’t you cuddly today?” Winter said.

Weiss knew her well enough to tell that the smile her older sister now wore was on the right side of forced. ‘I just miss you is all,” she said.

“Aww,” Ruby said. “Just like me and Yang, but less... uh, nevermind. Cookies?”

“Yes Miss Rose,” Winter said. “Cookies indeed.”

***

Ruby Rose had trained and learned from the greatest cartoons and comic books, those penned by writers and comedians of incredible talent and funniness. She knew that when someone was trying to win you over, they would offer all sorts of goodies and that you were totally allowed to take any of them. The greatest victory didn’t come from folding, but from getting the maximum number of sweets and pastries out of a situation.

That was why she decided to change tactics for this next part of the battle for Ruby Rose’s tummy.

Winter and Weiss were walking on either side of her, and Ruby, being very clever, kept a blissfully happy smile up as she neatly ignored the raging tension passing above her head.

Really, it was kind of sad to see two sisters going on like that, but it wasn’t exactly weird. Yang and her had... had their issues at times. A bit of missing shampoo here, some misplaced bolts there. There were holes in the Rose-Xiao-Long walls that were testaments to flaring tempers and angry little scuffles.

It wasn’t even the first time that an argument had been sparked about someone’s love life, though usually that fell at Yang’s feet.

“Ah, the weather is quite nice out here,” Winter said as she opened the door ahead of them and took in a deep breath.

“Isn’t it? I love the climate in Vale. Though I’m surprised you're not melding, dearest sister of mine,” Weiss said.

“No worries Weiss, you’ll find that I’m made of sterner stuff. The training Specialists receive is quite extensive after all.”

Ruby looked between the two sisters. She made her smile a little brighter. “It’s great weather for ice cream and cookies,” she said.

Winter and Weiss stared at each other. “Yes,” they both agreed.

Score!

“Hey, Winter?” she asked. “Can I sit up front with you in the bullhead?”

Winter frowned just a little. “That would violate quite a few rules, and besides, there’s only the one seat.”

“Can’t I sit on your lap? Like when I ride on Yang’s motorcycle?”

Ruby could see the gears turning like fine clockwork behind Winter’s eyes, and she dutifully noted the little gasps both sisters made.

“I... I’m certain we could work something out,” Winter said.

Double score! Ruby had always wanted to see the inside of a bullhead’s cockpit!

“Th-that... isn’t that going to be complicated somewhat by, ah, what you’re wearing?” Weiss asked. She gestured to Winter’s distinct lack of pants.

Ruby thought fast. “It’s okay. It’ll only be for a few minutes, so even if it’s warm it’s not like it’ll get too sticky or anything, right?” she asked.

Both sisters moved their mouths like fish out of water.

Yang was right, the more uptight sort really were fun to string along.

Ruby almost felt a teensy bit bad, but really, they were offering and it was for a good cause. Many good causes. Ice cream, cookies and a bullhead ride? Heck yeah!

“Let’s go!” she said as she shot ahead then bounced to a stop near the nearest intersection. “The sooner we go, the sooner we can land and have fun!”

“We’re coming,” Winter said. She was walking with a bit more alacrity now. Perfect.

Yes, this situation was perfect. Ruby almost felt back, but Blake had said that milking the schnee for all their worth was okay (and once Ruby got past the confusion of what she meant by ‘milking’ she couldn’t help but agree). All that lien should be spent on better things. Like chocolate and guns.

She was drooling at the thought already.


End file.
